The Hazel Road community centre in context

Because of the interest in plans (granted planning permission) to demolish Harriet Tubman House* in Hazel Road, Kensal Green, I visited this afternoon to take photographs of the current context of the Victorian building. In the previous article Philip Grant mentioned that only one councillor appeared to view the slide of the proposed new  building. Here is the applicant's CGIs of their building as seen from Hazel Road and Harrow Road and today's photographs.

Proposed from Harrow Road

 

Current

 Proposed from Hazel Road

 Current

 

 The community centre entrance

 

The playground close to the centre was being well-used at 4.30pm today and there was a great feeling of a relaxed community. 

 

The Hazel Road Playground

The trees between the community centre and Harrow Road are amazing survivors from a bygone age and form a rather lovely oasis of calm between busy Harrow Road and quieter Hazel Road.

 

 These rather special surroundings are not directly threatened by the new building but demolition and construction are bound to make an impact. More troubling to residents is the possibility of further applications in the area in the future now that this big change has been approved.

 

*Harriet Tubman rescued people from slavery by hiding them in safe houses until they reached freedom. 

 

Harlesden and Kensal Green councillors pledge to campaign for a change in the law after approval of Adult Gaming Centre

 Harlesden and Kensal Green Labour councillors have posted a Facebook comment on the approval of another Adult Gaming Centre by Brent Planning Committee.

We continue to stand up for the residents of #Harlesden and #KensalGreen who are fed up with our neighbourhood being targeted by gambling companies. This week Cllr Chan spoke at the Planning Committee in opposition to the application from Silvertime for a new high street casino on Park Parade, and Cllr Kelcher spoke at Licensing Committee in opposition to the application from Merkur for a new bingo site on the High Street. Unfortunately, the law as it currently operates severely limits the ability of Councils to block these facilities, which is why we’re campaign at a national level.

A little local history...

Plans for a Las Vegas style £320m casino and hotel complex for Wembley Park was put forward by Quintain and Caesars Entertainment back in 2004.  Quintain were not happy when it was turned down:

24 August 2006

Developer Quintain is forced to put forward alternative plan following Brent council's decision

The London Borough of Brent has withdrawn its support for a regional casino in the area meaning developer Quintain will have to progress with alternative plans on the proposed site.

Quintain’s joint venture with Caesar’s Entertainment has now lapsed as the developer will need to come up with an alternative plan for the site which is capable of accommodation up to 203,000 sq m of development.

Nick Shattock, Quintain’s deputy chief executive said: “We are not surprised by this turn of events. Of course, we were aware that both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives campaigned on an electoral ticket to stop the regional casino coming to Brent. Obviously, when they formed a joint administration in July, excluding the Labour party members, who had made the application, there was an increasing air on inevitability of this course of action.”

 

 April 2012 

QUINTAIN Estates and Development is confident of winning Government approval to build a new super-casino at Wembley.

Nick Shattock, Quintain's property director, said he was 'OKî with the Government's latest backtracking on the number of large casinos it would allow nationwide, down to eight at the last count.

He said: 'If it is eight there is just a bigger prize to be chased.’

Quintain unveiled plans in October to build a £335 million gambling and leisure resort on land it owns near the new Wembley stadium in a joint venture with Las Vegas casino owner Caesars Entertainment.

The developer would split the cost with Las Vegas casino owner, Caesars Entertainment in a joint venture to transform a 650,000-square-foot site on the land around the stadium owned by Quintain.

The plans for the complex include a 400 room hotel, a casino to house 110 gaming tables and 1,250 slot machines, numerous restaurants, shops and a performance area.

Ballymore to submit hybrid application for Kensal Canalside development at the end of the month - write a complaint letter

 From Keep Kensal Green

KENSAL CANALSIDE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

BALLYMORE WILL SUBMIT A HYBRID PLANNING APPLICATION AT THE END OF SEPT. 2023

On September 14th we learnt that Ballymore would be submitting a "Hybrid" Planning Application to RBKC at the end of September. 

A Hybrid application means that Ballymore will only submit a detailed plan for the new Sainsburys build.

Plans for the rest of the housing development  will only be submitted in outline with updated plans for different parcels of land (or plots)  submitted as and when Ballymore are ready.

This type of planning application is not unusual for large scale developments, but given the long list of concerns raised by residents about scale and density of the build, loss of light, traffic congestion, impact on the Cemetery, drain on local infrastructure and crucially the issue of site contamination and how this will be dealt with on a "plot by plot" basis -- its vital that we register our complaint NOW before the application goes in. 

We have been advised by a lawyer that residents should have been made aware from DAY 1 of the consultation process that this was a HYBRID planning application. RBKC's failure to do so is deemed "misleading" and unacceptable.

We have also been advised we have grounds to mount a challenge and ask RBKC to start a new consultation process that this time, includes information about the proposed Hybrid application.

If you would like to register your concern please click on the link to download a TEMPLATE Letter of Complaint which you can adapt and edit as you like.

 https://www.keepkensalgreen.com/complaints-letter

Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August - Cost £540 before August 1st, £640 after

 Press release from Brent Council

Landlords called to get licence to rent A new law requiring landlords in three Brent wards to pay for a selective licence will come into force on 1 August 2023. Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August. A licence will cost £640 for up to five years. Anyone who applied in the next few weeks before 1 August will be able to purchase a licence at the current rate of £540. Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green were selected for licensing following a borough-wide consultation that began in autumn 2022. A report to cabinet members showed that a selective licensing scheme would have a positive impact on poor property conditions and high levels of antisocial behaviour in the three areas. Cllr Promise Knight, Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters’ Security, said:  The landlords who work with us take pride in renting out properties that offer decent facilities and living conditions to tenants. The licensing scheme supports landlords in offering the best they can to tenants, ensuring that tenants’ safety and security are protected. We encourage landlords and agents with properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green to apply for a licence as soon as possible. You can find out whether the property you are renting needs a licence by checking out:https://www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing

Does Fairtrade have a future? Public debate November 17th

PUBLIC DEBATE ON FAIRTRADE

KENSAL GREEN ON THURS 17 NOV

Brent Fairtrade Network is joining with Fairtrade groups in Harrow, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston to host a debate on the future of Fairtrade on

Thursday 17 November 7-9 pm at St Martin’s Church, Kensal Green,

Mortimer Road, NW10 5SN.

All are welcome and entry is free. We shall be discussing topics such as the following:

•   Is the Fairtrade model still a good one?

•   Why not a Fairtrade label for manufactured goods?

•   Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade: are two labels needed?

•   Why do we need the Fairtrade Sourcing Programme?

•   Workers’ wages and rights raised by the critical SOAS report in 2014 “Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda”

•   What is the future of ethical certification?

•   How should Fairtrade respond to the proliferation of schemes?

We have a great line up of speakers to discuss these topics with:

•   Anne Cooper, Oxfam

•   Barbara Crowther, Fairtrade Foundation

•   Stuart Singleton-White, Rainforest Alliance

•   Vidya Rangan, ISEAL: global movement of sustainability standards

The event starts at 7 pm with Fairtrade refreshments and stall: bring cash or cheques for early Christmas shopping. From 7.30 pm we shall hear briefly from the speakers on the topics above before opening up discussion, ending by 9 pm. 

If you plan to attend please register: www.eventbrite.com/e/does-fairtrade-have-a-future-tickets-28817702524  This helps us with the planning – but you are welcome to come even without registering.

Kensal Green By-election Result

Chris Alley Conservative 255
Jumbo Chan Labour 931
Sarah Dickson Lib Dem 417
Jafar Hassan Green Party 102
Juliette Nibbs UKIP 38

Labour achieved 53% of the vote.
Turnout 20.3%

FULL RESULT

What will McDonnell say about Brent Council cuts on Sunday?

From the current Kilburn Times

On Sunday at 1pm  John McDonnell MP, the anti-austerity Shadow Chancellor, will hold a street meeting at the Jubilee Clock in Harlesden with Labour councillors and activists before they go off to canvas for the Labour candidate in the Kensal Green by-election. (Kensal Green ward covers a large part of Harlesden)

On Monday at 7pm Brent's Labour Cabinet will be setting in motion consultation on the latest round of cuts and increased charges and fees as they implement the Conservative's austerity agenda.

Rather than challenging the cuts agenda they will be operating a bidding war where supporters of different services compete with each other for survival - rather than unity against the Tories attack on local government this will be divisive. According to Michael Pavey's comment it could be those with the loudest voice who will win out : 'If the public is up in arms about any one of these issues we will talk it through and if necessary we will change it.' On the surface this sounds reasonable but leaves those who are most vulnerable and lack a voice at a disadvantage.

There appears to be little appetite for a change of policy in the Labour Group. There are only one or two who have lined up with the recently formed Brent Momentum  LINK while others have joined the anti-Corbyn Labour International. Brent Momentum is urging its members to attend Sunday's event and canvas for the Labour candidate but the effect will be to elect a 55th Labour councillor (out of a total council of 63) who will vote for cuts. If he wins they will hail this as a victory for Corbyn's Labour - all rather contradictory.

This is why the election of Jafar Hassan as a single Green councillor pledged to oppose cuts and hold the dominant Labour group to account would be a much better outcome in Kensal Green.

Green candidate Jafar Hassan offers a posiitve choice in Kensal Green By-election

Brent Green Party has selected 28 year old Jafar Hassan, a strategic consultant, as its candidate for the December 17th Kensal Green by-election. Jafar has lived in Brent for 25 years.

Jafar said:

The Green Party came second to Labour in Kensal Green at the last council election so it's vital that everyone in the area goes out to the polls on 17 December to make their vote count. Brent Council needs change and I believe I'm the right person to do that. Whether in Parliament, the GLA or on London councils such as Islington, the Green Party has proved that though few in number we can make a huge difference.

Brent Council is dominated by weak Labour councillors, a divided Conservative opposition, and a single ineffectual Liberal Democrat. The Green Party can win in Kensal Green so I hope that the people here will vote for me  on 17 December.  I will hold the Council to account and put forward positive ideas to fix Brent’s lack of affordable housing, shortage of school places, poor handling of regeneration projects and the cluelessness when it comes to tackling fuel poverty and making homes energy efficient.

The Green Party beat both Liberal Democrats and Tories to come second behind Labour in the  May 2014 local elections.

Kensal Green's Bolder Voices sing the praises of the Freedom Pass. Yeh!

'Love that Freedom Pass' was officially launched today on You Tube. Sung by the Bolder Voices of Kensal Green  (aged 65-95) it celebrates the  contribution of the Freedom Pass to health, happiness and friendship - and takes on some of the criticism levelled at this 'perk' for older people.

Brimming with talent, warmth and humour this is a wonderful way to stand up for what you value!

Declaration of interest: I have a Freedom Pass...

Dan Filson funeral arrangements

Cllr Dan Filson's funeral will be held at West London Crematorium in Kensal Green on Tuesday November 17th at 2.15pm.

18 Bus, Kensal Green Bakerloo and Overground

Family, friends and colleagues will be going on to the William VI pub afterwards. It is on the opposite side of Harrow Road.

How the Greens performed in the Brent local elections

The Green Party stood one candidate in every Brent ward except for Willesden Green, which was where we put in most of our campaigning, where we stood two candidates. We left the third slot free so as to make space for Alex Colas the independent Make Willesden Green candidate.  In the event many voters voted two Green plus MWG . MWG were the single choice of some voters and shared with parties other than the Green Party  in other cases.

The combined percentage vote of the three candidates in Willesden Green was 21%: Make Willesden Green 9%, Sharara Ali 6% and Martin Francis 6%.

The Greens beat both Tory and Lib Dem candidates in Harlesden, Kensal Green and Kilburn. We beat all the Lib Dems in Dudden Hill, Fryent, Kenton, Northwick Park, Preston, Queen's Park, Queensbury and Welsh Harp. We beat all the Tories in Mapesbury and Willesden Green.

Greens were ahead of two out of the three Lib Dem candidates in Barnhill, Brondesbury  Park and Willesden Green and two out of three Tories in Queen's Park.

Our highest percentage votes were in Brondesbury Park, Kensal Green, Mapesbury, Queen's Park and Willesden Green.

Brent Green Party has limited financial and human resources compared with the other parties and therefore had to concentrate on a few wards. However, it is clear that there are many potential Green voters in the borough if only we can reach them through leafleting and personal contact. Our aim must be to substantially increase our active membership and network of supporters while at the same time maintaining and improving our campaigning record.

The Euro election results later today should give us further indications of our potential support.

Looking forward to the General Election in 2015 the 'Vote for Policies' website  LINK shows Greens ahead of the other parties in Brent Central. People vote purely on policies without knowing which party they emanate from until completion:

Green Party 25.95%
Labour 23.07%
Liberal Democrats: 17.47%
Conservative 14.77%
UKIP 10.51%
BNP 8.23%

The figures for Brent North also put the Greens ahead LINK

Green Party 24.01%
Labour 22.74%
Liberal Democrats 16.13%
Conservative 15.12%
UKIP 12.48%
BNP 9.52%

Meanwhile, for any individual their political party  affiliation is a matter of 'best fit'  rather than 'I agree with every item in the manifesto'. I hope that some Wembley Matters readers will take note of this election result and come and join us.

More than ever, we are the alternative.

Independent performs well as Labour vote strengthens in early Brent results

The first results of the Brent Council elections only began to emerge as dawn broke over Wembley Stadium.  The first result in Kensal Green surprised many with a Labour win but the Greens beating the Lib Dems and Tories.  The Labour vote was generally strong but Brondesbury Park bucked the trend returing three Conservative councillors where only one had existed before. The one iscolourful Carol Shaw who is recognised as being extremely strong on casework.

In the eagerly awaited Willesden Green contest Labour won all three seats but Alex Colas, the Independent Make Willesden Green candidate gained 846 votes, more than the Greens, Lib Dems and Tories.  The Greens beat all the Tories and two of the Lib Dems.

The Lib Dem vote appeared to be crumbling but some of their stronger wards had yet to declare at the time of writing.

Brent approves Moberly Sports Centre development

After extensive discussion, much of it concerned with the lack of affordable housing in the development, Brent Planning Committee approved the redevelopment of the Moberly Sports Centre. A speaker from Wilmott Dixon said that they would not be able to provide a high quality sports centre if they were required to build affordable rather than market housing. He said that Brent and Westminster councils had accepted this.

Cllr Mashari who is responsible for sports told the committee that the new centre was required to give an opportunity to the large number of people in the south of the borough who do not partake in regular physical activity which contributes to ill health. The centre represented a bargain for local people who would benefit from superior facilities at special concessionary rates negotiated for disabled, unemployed and low wage residents.

The application was approved with 7 for, 1 abstention and 1 against.

Approval is subject to any direction by the Mayor of London to refuse the application. He has 14 days to allow the draft decision to proceed unchanged or direct the Council to refuse the application.

The Queensbury Pub planning commitee voting record

Readers have asked for details of the Planning Committee vote which saves the Queensbury Pub in Willesden Green from development for the time being. I am grateful to the Kilburn Times for this list:

Voted for the plans: Cllr Ann John (Stonebridge) and Sandra Kabir (Queensbury).

Against: Cllr Abdi Aden (Barnhill), Michael Adeyeye (Queens Park), Mark Cummins (Brondesbury Park), Sami Hashmi (Mapesbury), Dhiraj Kataria (Welsh Harp) and James Powney (Kensal Green).
Abstained: Cllr Ketan Sheth (Tokyngton).

Cllr Powney has written a comment about his vote against the plans on his blog LINK which mentions his participation in many planning decisions regarding the Mapebury Conservation Area. The selection of a new Labour candidate for Mapesbury Ward is taking place after the withdrawal of one of the three candidates for personal reasons. Cllr Powney was not reselected for his present Kensal Green seat.

More Labour Brent Central nomination results

Parmijit Dhanda and Sabina Khan were nominated by Kensal Green ward as PPCs for Brent Central and Dawn Butler tweeted that she had one Harlesden with a big majority. Zaffar van Kalwala lost the male Harlesden nomination by one vote to Bobby Thomas who is currently Mayor of Brent.

Cupcakes challenge Coalitions's divide and rule tactics

 

Incensed by the UKBA's recent raid on Kensal Green station. when officers appeared to be stopping and questioning commuters on the basis of their race and ethnicity, local residents today set up a free cupcake stall with a message.

Cakes bearing the slogans 'UKBA sucks' and 'I love Immigrants' were give out along with leaflets and cards informing people of their rights if stopped by the UKBA.

The unique protest soon gained customers, once they had got over the initial shock of something being given away AND being warmly greeted.

Underlying the fun and sugar rush was a serious message:

This community will not standby while people are stereotyped, scapegoated, bullied and victimised.

We will not allow the Coalition, competing with UKIP for the racist vote, to divide and rule us.

Kensal Green Cupcakes against UKBA,

We like diversity!

  Guest blog

We’re a group of local Brent residents and we’d like you to join us for a free cup cake session in protest of the UKBA’s recent actions in Kensal Green and other London boroughs. We appreciate the diversity of our neighbourhoods and do not want racial profiling in the area.

Cup cakes will be available for all, while stocks last, at:

Kensal Green Tube Station

on Friday 23 of August -  from 5pm onwards.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Peace .

Get down to Kensal Green on Tuesday to help save the library

A message from the Save Kensal Rise Library Campaign

Public Meeting Reminder!
 

A reminder that we are holding a public meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st May in St Martin’s Church, Mortimer Rd, Kensal Green (first street on the right from Kensal Green Tube as you walk up College Rd, about 1 minute walk).

 

The Leader of Brent Council Cllr Muhammed Butt will be there and local councillors and we hope that Roxanne Mashari, the new Lead Member on the Executive responsible for Libraries will be able to make the meeting.

 

Roxanne came to a meeting of SOS Brent Libraries (the umbrella group of the campaigns attached to the closed libraries in Brent) on Sunday and stated most strongly that she wanted to have a dialogue with us and envisioned a partnership between the council and our community.

 

It is really important to let both the Leader of the Council and Cllr Mashari know how strongly this community feels about the loss of our library and the importance of the Kensal Rise Library building as a library and community space, a space that we will lose if the building is turned into flats.

 

To achieve this we really do need as many of you as possible to come to the public meeting.

 

We are still fighting after nearly three years and they need to know what we are fighting for and what we value in this community.

Mary Arnold to step down as a councillor in 2014

Following the changes in the Brent Executive it was likely that some of those who have been replaced would review their wider role as councillors. Having done a good stint in her Executive role and recognising that the election results represent a generational change, Cllr Mary Arnold, former lead member for children and families, has decided not to put herself forward as a 2014 candidate for the Kilburn ward.

Before the AGM sources said that James Powney was considering standing for Harlesden ward, where Helga Gladbaum is not standing again, rather than his present Kensal Green seat where he has been increasingly uncomfortable.

Powney, in the wake of the libraries issue, did badly in the election according to a senior councillor. Overall the results were convincing for the challengers who achieved votes in the high 20s out of the electorate of 41.

James Powney: Catherine West 'very inspiring'

Catherine West

As the contest for Labour's nomination for Brent Central heats up Cllr James Powney posted this about one of the possible candidates on his blog yesterday.LINK  He didn't mention the Brent Central contest but Catherine West seems to have gained a fan.

I went to hear the very inspiring Catherine West, Leader of Islington Council, speak last night at a meeting in Kensal Green.  Although Islington is very different to Brent (for instance, in the amount of social housing), I am sure we could learn much from both their policies and campaign techniques.

West was recently awarded 'Council Leader of the Year' by the Local Government Information Unit and praised as a 'doer and thinker'.

Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North)  congratulated her:

Congratulations Catherine on your prorities of social justice and making our borough a better place. Well deserved award for your wonderfully inclusive approach to dealing with all the issues that face us!